What the left has complained about as Susie Madrak has said to the president's advisor, David Axelrad
""No, I said help us help you. Don't make our jobs so much harder with these comments."
Even if not enough has been done, even though when it comes to issues like war and the national security state it's harder than it should be to discern differences, we do recognize that the choice is between Attila and the Huns surrounding Rome and Rome's fearful defenders. Despite all that, we want to help you succeed. We want to help you win in November. We want to win in November. But we need you to help us help you. So please more speeches like yesterday's in Wisconsin with Senator Feingold.
It's not about the base of the base, it's about all the other voters whose lives are not looking up.
In terms of policy, from the beginning of this administration, the left has been stiff armed and held at bay. Personality and personnel may be a small part of it , but the real rub is policy. The "professional left" wanted policies that, once turned into legislation or executive actions, would have helped everyday, ordinary Americans. The professional left folks think the way to increase power was to have made the test " Did we make your life better" not just "Did we preserve the banking system and bankers' profits." The professional left thinks policies aimed at people who want to working stiffs has always been the way to get ALL THOSE OTHER DISHEARTENED AND DISGRUNTLED VOTERS TO CARE ENOUGH TO VOTE FOR US.
The sin of the left seems to be that it has correctly predicted the response of the country and to have repeatedly tried to change things so that this would not have happened. The left predicted that for everyday ordinary Americans what this administration has done, is JUST NOT ENOUGH. Good things indeed have been accomplished, but when you're swinging toward the other trapeze bars, 70% of the flight still means youu fall to the net. Not enough to get them a job. Not enough to give them hope or get them to pull the lever for Democrats. And without a dramatic pre November action it is not enough to get those Americans, not bloggers, to vote for Democrats.
The sad outcome of the WH's blunted ambitions are to leave all the rest of the Democratic electorate sitting in their seats - those who don't leaflet or phone during elections - it has left them unispired and unwilling to leave the house on election day. It has made THEM feel left behind, ignored, and neglected. It means the disheartened ones are staying home and the angry, disgruntled ones are voting for the right.
From the NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09...
But this year may be different. Even though women are still more likely to vote Democratic, the poll
suggests that they may stay home this year, giving more of the decision-making to men by default.
So far in this election, women have not been nearly as attentive as men and have expressed less enthusiasm about voting, the poll found. Men are more likely than women to fall into the category of voters who say they are paying a lot of attention to the campaign right now. They are also more likely than women to say they are more enthusiastic about voting in this Congressional election than they remember being in past midterm elections.
The poll suggests that men are angrier than women, and that their anger may be more motivating than the sense of hopelessness expressed by women, particularly on economic issues.
It's not personal. It's political. Lecturing people doesn't get them to vote for you or your party. As Bill Clinton said over and over, no one owes you a vote. You have to work for every vote. You have to make them want to vote for you. They need reasons to get out there. And you and the Democratic party have lots of reasons. Just tell them what they are. |
